Today's communication networks provide transport of voice, video and data to both residential and commercial customers, with more and more of those customers being connected by fiber optic cables. In these communication networks, information is transmitted from one location to another by sending pulses of light through the fiber optic cables. Fiber optic transmission provides several advantages over electrical transmission techniques, such as increased bandwidth over distance with lower losses and maintenance.
Delivery of fiber optic communication services from a service provider to a customer is effectuated by interfacing service provider cabling with customer cabling at one or more termination points. A termination point includes individual terminations, i.e., splices of fiber optic cable, which may be contained and organized in an enclosure. In some instances, the space available for a termination point may be limited. For example, a termination point may be limited to the space within relatively small cabinets, data centers and storage area networks. This space limitation is particularly problematic if a customer seeks to upgrade his or her fiber optic network and the existing termination points are at or near maximum capacity. In this instance, there may be little or no available space to expand the termination point. Complete redesign and redistribution of the fiber optic network is typically not a viable alternative, as this option involves substantial expense.
Fiber optic cassettes may be implemented in a fiber optic network to maximize the space efficiency of termination points and thus mitigate the need for new space. Fiber optic cassettes are typically passive devices that accommodate a plurality of fiber optic cables. Fiber optic cassettes typically include a vertical array of receptacles that are complementary to a standardized endpoint structure of fiber optic cables. These receptacles provide plug-and-socket functionality between the cassettes and fiber optic cables that allows an installer to easily effectuate multiple terminations without having to manually splice the fibers. Moreover, the terminations are efficiently arranged in a vertical array. The cassettes may include additional features that allow installers to make efficient use of space, such as power or wavelength splitting of the signals transmitted on the fiber optical cabling.
Fiber optic cassettes are mounted to structures that accommodate one or more fiber optic cassettes in an organized fashion. The dimensions of fiber optic cassettes may vary. As technology progresses, fiber optic cassettes tend to reduce in size, particularly in width. In some instances, a customer may wish to mount older, larger fiber optic cassettes and newer, smaller fiber optic cassettes together in a single structure at a termination point. Depending on the compatibility of the structure used to mount the fiber optic cassettes, this may not be possible, or may only be possible with a significant amount of unutilized space.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improvement.